Sac Bee Just read the NBA's new Dress Code, and the first thought that comes to mind is Commissioner David Stern and his cronies definitely want to make his predominantly African American player group come off as visually less threatening. Now who exactly will feel less threatened remains to be seen. Personally, I hope it achieves its goals because no one should feel threatened, unless it's by the inhibitions of your mind. Clearly, the NBA has not been pleased by the hip-hop influence that has gripped its league (including many of its younger fans) and has made a strong power move to the hoop that will nip all of this in the bud. Is this a decision, in part, based on racial boundaries? Ya darned skippy! Some people will say this is nothing but a move by the predominantly white (and maybe more importantly) older leadership inside the league and the National Basketball Players Association to make this African American crew look less black. One only can wonder if some of those so-called professionals who played a role in establishing these clothing parameters see youngsters or young adults sporting the same attire they are prohibiting their players from wearing and see them as scary. You wonder if they see a couple of them wearing a New York Jets Joe Namath No. 12 jersey or an Atlanta Falcons Steve Bartkowski No. 17 when they come out of their office buildings and immediately pull their briefcases closer to their bodies. And now, when they bump into the dudes with their penny-loafers or hush puppies or Bostonians, they feel a little better about themselves or the people by whom they walk by. Ultimately, though, this spanks more of a control issue than race. Few have been more aggressive pushing for minority hires in their business than Stern. The commissioner, for all of his faults and hangups, has spent more time around African Americans and minorities than probably any league leader in sports. And it will take a full Google search to find a bigger control freak or smoother behind-the-scenes dictator than Dominant Dave. Source
Strongly disagree with the article. Looking professional helps the NBA's image with its sponsers, buisnessmen, and fans.
I totally agree. It's not the actual dress code that bothers me, it's the reasoning behind the dress code that has me very upset. Stern is trying soften the image of the NBA to certain "people" who stereotype the players as thugs. But these "people" are racist, and since Stern is catering to these "people", that puts him in the same category.
I agree with the article...I do believe Stern feels that his league is perceived as thugs and "gangstas", and thats what he wants to change...I think he wants the league to be less "kiddie" and more professional and "grown-up"...therefore, he places an age limit and a dress code...
The dress code is stupid and ignorant. The Players dont walk through the court where all the fans can see them. Stern should control what the players on the court instead out of it. Players only have to play and look proffesional in games and after the game but not when theyre in the street. I think Stern wants his league to look better but its stupid. No1 sees the players and quite frankly no1 cares. I would care less if Marbury came to a game in a clown suit.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting GotSkillz92:</div><div class="quote_post">The dress code is stupid and ignorant. The Players dont walk through the court where all the fans can see them. Stern should control what the players on the court instead out of it. Players only have to play and look proffesional in games and after the game but not when theyre in the street. I think Stern wants his league to look better but its stupid. No1 sees the players and quite frankly no1 cares. I would care less if Marbury came to a game in a clown suit.</div> But they don't look professional at all. The players are paid by the teams. They work for the teams therefore, they should be treated as any other employee would that means dressing appropriately. especially if you get paid millions to play a game
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Jpas:</div><div class="quote_post">But they don't look professional at all. The players are paid by the teams. They work for the teams therefore, they should be treated as any other employee would that means dressing appropriately. especially if you get paid millions to play a game</div> They dont have to look proffesional. Theyre playing basketball not walking down a runway modeling suits. The players are paid by the teams to play basketball not to wear suits. They dont work for the team, they play for it. Just because your in the NBA doesnt mean you have to look proffesional. It means you have to play and act proffesional.
It's somewhat about culture, but it's more about proffesionalism. Stern would obviously love to see basketball as popular and mainstream as football is. Wouldn't we all? Basketball is barely hanging on. All these players need to shut their mouths and dress like proffessionals. You can give me that "anti hip-hop" "anti black culture" argument all day, but it doesn't mean squat. If the NBA was full of white guys who listened to country music and yodelling, and talked like uneducated hicks, I think everyone would have just as much of a problem. I know I would. Obviously the players dressing like proffesionals and acting like professionals will help the sport a little, but it won't solve all of it's problems. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> In its way, the NBA is engaged in a desperate attempt to turn back the clock to the late '80s and early '90s, to the height of its popularity, when Michael Jordan and his contemporaries roamed the earth. It is as if the league is saying, "Well, they wore suits after games, and the games were never more popular, so why can't these guys wear suits, too?" But that argument is false. It isn't the suits, but rather the people in the suits. It isn't what they wear, but what they do. The game is a defense-oriented bore right now - that is why the numbers aren't what they were. </div> That's a direct quote from an article by Rich Hoffman of the Philly newspaper. I think he's got the right idea of what's EXACTLY wrong with this league right now.
I have to back David Stern for that. This is a professional league and so far the NBA players as a whole has not stepped up to the image of "professionalism". It ruins the NBA's image with all the hip-hop clothing and disrespectance to the society. I cannot believe some players are actually complaining about it. Even I have to wear a suit to games for the school i play for since years ago. Most NBA players need to act more professional anyways. So its a good rule
"For my business, this is casual."- Troy Murphy comments on the new dress code while wearing a t-shirt and sweats. Pretty much those are my thoughts. These players' work environment isnt an office, its a gym. I dont have too much of a problem with players looking nice after games or if they are inactive during games, though I dont think that is very necessary. When you force players to dress a certain way at 1 AM on an airplane back to their home while they are icing down a sore leg is ridiculous. I think Stern has better things to be doing than forcing players to wear suites and ties. How about enforcing consistency among the referees' play calling?
I dont agree with this dress code, its like what Iverson said "Put A Murderer In A Suit and He's Still A Murderer". Just because the players might dress hip-hop what does it change if they wear different clothes? Cant they express themselves how they want.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Phuntsok:</div><div class="quote_post">I dont agree with this dress code, its like what Iverson said "Put A Murderer In A Suit and He's Still A Murderer". Just because the players might dress hip-hop what does it change if they wear different clothes? Cant they express themselves how they want.</div> i agree with you 100% this is just a stupid dress code, by the way are the players allowed to wear jewelery(how do you spell this word)? and if you look at nba.com the headlines is some dude giving fashion advice!! i just HAPPEN TO KNOW that iverson, melo, rashard lewis, and several other players hate this dudes old school advice
the whole dress code thing is suspect. Any change enfored on the players can be percieved as racially motivated considering the overwhelming majority are black, so I don't buy into that "theory". However, I would agree that guys should look presentable and professional when attending games and team functions. But, it's a little far fetched to make guys wear sport coats and all that bs. Make them wear team garb, period. I'm all for the ban on wearing sunglasses inside, I think that's just plain stupid.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TheHitman:</div><div class="quote_post">I have to back David Stern for that. This is a professional league and so far the NBA players as a whole has not stepped up to the image of "professionalism". It ruins the NBA's image with all the hip-hop clothing and disrespectance to the society. I cannot believe some players are actually complaining about it. Even I have to wear a suit to games for the school i play for since years ago. Most NBA players need to act more professional anyways. So its a good rule</div>Just in case you didn't know, clothes don't make you act any different, you are who you are regardless of what you wear. That's something you and Stern have in common, you don't realize that. Kobe Bryant is one of the sharpest dressers in the league, that sure didn't stop him from getting into the situation he got into in Colorado did it? Yeah, he got off on those charges, but not because they were false. Ron Artest, another sharp dresser, yet he sparked one of the most talked about NBA fights of all time. Magic Johnson, still dressing to the T even today, did that stop him from being adulterous and contracting the HIV virus? Look at Martha Stewart, she's like the Nation's mother and doesn't dress like a thug, yet she's been where most thugs end up, IN PRISON!!! How many NBA players have been to prison?
the whole thing was put into good context by Jason Whitlock: <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Stern is not attacking youth culture, hip-hop culture or black culture. He's running a business and trying to improve the profitability of his league.</div>
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting JWohl:</div><div class="quote_post">the whole thing was put into good context by Jason Whitlock:Stern is not attacking youth culture, hip-hop culture or black culture. He's running a business and trying to improve the profitability of his league.</div> .....by making the black guys less threatening to corporate white america by way of their appearance, which is telling the youth culture that it's not acceptable to dress in a manner indicative of thier upbringing and that the hip hop culture is not acceptable in the white world we live in and that it's not ok to express your black culture in one of the ways most embraced by black people, the way you dress. But yeah, they're overreacting
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TheHitman:</div><div class="quote_post">I have to back David Stern for that. This is a professional league and so far the NBA players as a whole has not stepped up to the image of "professionalism". It ruins the NBA's image with all the hip-hop clothing and disrespectance to the society. I cannot believe some players are actually complaining about it. Even I have to wear a suit to games for the school i play for since years ago. Most NBA players need to act more professional anyways. So its a good rule</div> If people judge other people for the clothes on they're back, then what does that make you? If I go to the mall, and see some teenage white kid with a Marlyn Manson shirt, ripped up jeans, and both eyebrows pierced, I'm smart enough to not to stereotype him as a killer. It seems like young black men are held to different standards in todays society. Even though it's a so-called "Free Country", certain races of people will always be stereotyped by the way they dress (while others won't). Hockey players will NEVER have a dress code. For some reason, they're not as "threatning" as a NBA player.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rock4life:</div><div class="quote_post"> Hockey players will NEVER have a dress code. For some reason, they're not as "threatning" as a NBA player.</div>Hockey players do have a dress code, but I see your point.
One thing though is that a lot of the sponsors of the NBA market some of the clothing they're not allowing players to wear. Throwback jerseys are big in the NBA, and so is are a lot of the kicks, and all that, that stuff makes a lot of money for them.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting og15:</div><div class="quote_post">One thing though is that a lot of the sponsors of the NBA market some of the clothing they're not allowing players to wear. Throwback jerseys are big in the NBA, and so is are a lot of the kicks, and all that, that stuff makes a lot of money for them.</div> Exactly! And on top of that, the league allows Miller Lite to be a huge sponsor, and thier product is the one of the leading causes of death in this country. But it's ok to promote that, just can't wear the long iced out necklace cause it's bad for business. Very logical Stern, very logical
